


colors seemed dull (until you came)

by cupids



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Enemies to Lovers, Kissing, M/M, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-08-23 02:38:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16610303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cupids/pseuds/cupids
Summary: Where Mark thinks everything about him and his life seems dull, and Donghyuck comes in and changes everything.





	colors seemed dull (until you came)

**Author's Note:**

> unedited (for now)
> 
> there's underage drinking w/ no recollection of what happened in this chapter but keep in mind everything is SFW!
> 
> enjoy

Mark feels like his life is dull. He goes through the same routine each day, feeling like he’s just being pulled into a giant hole of dissatisfaction every time.

 ~~Mark thinks~~ , Mark knows, that there was once a time where he didn’t mind his repetitive lifestyle. He remembers when he felt unbothered by the lack of change in his life. But, he was tiring of it, he lived in the same house with his parents, still had the same friends since he was a child and still rides the same bike that he’s been riding to school since junior high.

Maybe it isn’t at all bad as he’s making it out to be in his head, but he wants change, he craves it. He’s about to enter his first year in college, and all he can think about is how everyone is probably making the most out of their young years while he’s just there, feeling as dull as ever.

In retrospect, Mark isn’t even as dull as he deems himself to be. If you were to ask anyone that knew him, they’d say that Mark is amusing and fun to be around and that he had a bright personality, quite the opposite as Mark thinks of himself now. He doesn’t know when his views of himself changed and he doesn’t know why. It isn’t even that he doesn’t do anything with his life, he goes out with his friends and he has fun while doing it, but as soon as he gets home, all feelings of euphoria seem to fade. It doesn’t last long, and he just wants that feeling to stay.

So, as impulsive as it may be, due to all the underlying circumstances, his feelings of dullness lead him to decide he wants to move out and spend all his savings on a car he probably won’t ever need since he’ll be staying in a dorm on campus anyway. Does sense have a say in what Mark decides? Not really. Is he going to ignore his subconscious thoughts and all the people around him simply because he thinks he’ll feel better after this? Well, _yeah_.

 

 

The three months of summer before college pass, as quickly as ever and Mark still isn’t feeling any less dull than he did in the months prior. He has a car, he’s moving into his dorm and somehow the drastic changes that are about to be made in his life still aren’t enough to even entertain the idea of non-dullness in his clouded head.

It isn’t until his roommate finally arrives that he realizes that maybe he should’ve listened to sense and advice because the energy of the other is just so extensive that Mark doesn’t think he’ll be able to handle an entire semester of it.

Donghyuck is everything that Mark is currently not. He is loud, cheerful, bright, and has no problem calling Mark out on his brooding appearance.

Mark doesn’t know it yet, but Donghyuck is _exactly_ what he needs.

 

 

After a little short of their first semester, Mark is sure he can’t take it anymore (it, being living with Donghyuck). Donghyuck constantly leaves a mess in the dorm, never bothering to tidy up before he leaves, books scattered across the floor as if he didn’t have an entire desk to work on. In contrast to that, when he is in the dorm, he blasts music that Mark doesn’t care for whilst Mark is trying to study which causes him to have to leave mid-essay since he can’t focus on any of his work. 

Mark can’t decide whether Donghyuck is more irritating in the dorm, or when he’s out of it.

What’s worse is that they argue about Donghyuck’s issues (as Mark likes to call them) constantly, but Donghyuck always finds a way to reverse the fault onto Mark. For example:

“Donghyuck, can you please turn your music down, or at least put some headphones on? I can’t concentrate.” Mark says through gritted teeth. It’s the third time in the past four hours that Mark has had to ask and Donghyuck will supply quiet tunes at first, but as time progresses Mark hears the soft steady sound of the music return to its usual level of noise that he despises.

“I already did like thirty minutes ago, Mark.” The younger replies and Mark doesn’t even have to look to know Donghyuck is rolling his eyes.

Mark sighs in annoyance, “yes and you’ve only been increasing the volume slowly since then. Just turn it down and keep it turned down, I need to finish my paper and I can’t while you’re blasting Red Velvet every other song.”

“Well it isn’t my fault you decide to study here knowing I like to play my music loud. The library exists you know.” Donghyuck bites back, causing Mark to pack his things and go on his way to the library.

“Whatever, I’m leaving.” Mark grumbles, leaving the dorm as Donghyuck spits out a “finally,” just as he exits the door.

 

 

Donghyuck doesn’t hate Mark. In fact, he thinks his roommate is quite “cool.” At first Donghyuck would tease him simply because it was amusing to see Mark’s face go red in anger, but after so much of that he found that Mark’s reactions to his teasing were crossing the line between playfully mean and downright spiteful.

Entering college, Donghyuck didn’t want to be hated or disliked by anyone, much less his roommate, but things always had a funny way of falling into place.

 

 

Friday night rolls around and Donghyuck is tired. Tired of Mark always nagging him to pick his books off the floor, tired of Mark constantly getting angry with him when his music is too loud, just tired of Mark’s presence entirely. So, he decides to leave the dorm that Mark has yet to arrive to and makes his way to the party across town.

Although it's all the way across town, it isn’t hard to get there when his closest friend, Jeno, has a car and is open to the idea of driving the two to the party and back.

Apparently, Donghyuck wasn’t the only one tired of their roommates’ company because upon arriving to the party, Donghyuck instantly spots Mark leaning against the wall talking to several other people who are assumedly in the same year as them.

Donghyuck feels heat rise to his cheeks.

It doesn’t peeve Donghyuck that Mark is coincidentally at the same party as him, when there are probably two other parties going on in different parts of town. It doesn’t annoy him that even though he was trying to escape the presence of his roommate, he found himself in the same vicinity.

What irks Donghyuck the most is that Mark looks good, _really good_.

But, it isn’t anything new. Donghyuck _always_ thinks Mark looks good. Underneath all the annoyance that Donghyuck holds for his roommate, Mark has always been someone Donghyuck deemed handsome, which is a lot considering Donghyuck has seen him at the most unflattering times of day. It doesn’t matter though, Donghyuck thinks Mark looks good at all hours, of everyday.

Donghyuck shakes his head attempting to get the thoughts of how hot Mark truly looks right at that moment and decides he ~~wants~~ needs a drink.

 

 

Mark had been drinking, which isn’t uncommon, but it isn’t common enough for him to be drinking five shots in one go in a location that isn’t so private, with possibilities of phone cameras catching his every move.

Mark is usually the responsible one out of his friend group, but for some reason, all sense of responsibility has flown out the window.

He isn’t sure if he’s getting drunk trying to forget about the feeling of dullness that lies deep in his chest and the fantasies of brighter colors, or if he’s simply trying to release the stress of school and his not-so-pleasant to be around, roommate.

He thinks both should be a good enough reason to let loose, even if it’s for one night.

Just as he feels the buzz of the alcohol in his system start to increase, he feels it fall just as fast as it came.

There in the middle of the living room that everyone was dancing in, was his roommate, Lee Donghyuck.

Mark should’ve been annoyed to find his roommate at the same party as him, since all Mark really wanted was to get away from Donghyuck most of the time. But, seeing his roommate under the dim colored lights, in between dancing bodies that parted like the sea just, so Mark could sneak a glance at Donghyuck, Mark thought he looked beautiful.

Even past Mark’s blurring vision (a result of the alcohol brewing in his system) he could see how bright Donghyuck was.

Donghyuck was like the sun, he radiated brightness and warmth. His aura was filled with a rainbow of colors. He shined even under the low lights that barely illuminated the room. Donghyuck was the literal epitome of radiant.

Mark felt his heart pound.

Maybe it was the alcohol in his system, or maybe it was just all the frustration that has built up throughout the entire time the two of them had been roommates, but suddenly Mark found himself being drawn to Donghyuck. 

His eyes never left him as he made his way through the crowd of intoxicated people dancing on one another. Mark watched the way Donghyuck’s body moved matching the rhythm of the song, which very different from the more upbeat songs that he danced to in their dorm.

He inched closer and closer to the younger, but Donghyuck still didn’t notice Mark’s ever nearing presence, his eyes closed focusing on moving to the music. After his final few steps, Mark’s chest met Donghyuck’s back, wrapping his arms around the younger’s waist. He feels the other go rigid underneath his touch and make the move to turn his head to see who exactly was touching him.

Mark smiles once his eyes meet the younger’s and smiles, most likely lopsidedly (another possible effect of the alcohol). “Hi, Hyuckie.”

He sees Donghyuck’s eyes go wide before he feels him lean a bit more into his touch, relaxing. Donghyuck scoffs slightly, “Hyuckie? We’re on a nickname basis now?” He turns his head back to face forward and the two begin to sway slowly matching beat with the music blasting in the background.

Mark hums pulling Donghyuck closer to whisper in his ear, “yeah, but I’d rather be on a pet name basis.” He feels Hyuck giggle under his touch asking him what kind of pet name he had in mind. “I like baby, baby suits you.”

 

 

The next morning, Donghyuck’s head pounds. He finds himself in his dorm, no roommate in sight. It should be fine since he’s safe, he seems to have all his belongings, and he’s back where he should be except everything is not fine at all. He can’t remember most of what happened the night before, he doesn’t have any recollection of how he got back to his dorm, and he’s sitting in the middle of Mark’s bed, which is so obviously unkept that Donghyuck can only guess that he wasn’t the only one to sleep in Mark’s bed that night.

He tries to calm himself, he’s fully dressed which means nothing unholy happened and he and Mark don’t even like each other that way, if at all in general.

However, his eyes dart around the room to find one of Mark’s shirts sticking out of the laundry basket and Donghyuck can’t help but recall that it’s the shirt Mark wore last night. Donghyuck would know because he spent most of the night (before he started drinking) checking Mark out as he paraded around the party in that very shirt.

His mind a mess, he decides to text Jeno. What he doesn’t expect is ten missed calls from said boy, and numerous texts asking where the hell the other had gone.

 

**jenose**

_hyuck_

_where are you_

 

_nvm found u_

who’s the boy you’re dancing with???

 

_uh where are you two going…_

_wtf hyuck i lost you two_

_HYUCk_

_pls reply_

_are u safe_

_fuck_

_pls call me in the morning_

_when u see these_

_im worried_

 

 

**you**

_jeno!!!_

_i’m so sorry i didn’t reply las t night_

_i’m in my dorm_

_safe n sound (:_

 

**jenose**

_thank fuck_

_i’m gonna kill you_

 

**you**

_sorry for worring you ):_

_also abt the boy u saw me with?_

_what’d he look like…_

 

**jenose**

_well i found out his name_

_n may i say i’m quite surprised_

_you two seemed to have worked out_

_whatever drama u two had_

 

_i calmed down after i found out who he was_

_assuming he’d take u back safely_

 

**you**

_drama????_

_what r u talking abt_

_wtf who was it?_

 

**jenose**

_mark lee?_

_ur roommate_

_do you srsly not remember?_

 

**you**

_fuck_

 

 

Donghyuck falls back onto his (Mark’s) pillows with a groan.

Why was he with Mark last night? Why were they dancing together? As far as Donghyuck knew, Mark hated him with every fiber of his being. Nothing made sense, even as hard as he tried to piece it together in his head.


End file.
